Tuesday, March 7

You guys! I decorated my room! This gets extra exclamation points! Because! Our room! Has been! A dumping ground! For nine years! And now! It's not!
Ok, I'm done.
And dumping ground may be a little strong. But seriously, for the almost decade we've been together, we've never ever put any thought or effort into our room because, I don't know. We were the only ones who would ever see it/spend time in it and therefore it wasn't worth our time/money? That's basically the gist of it. We've stored bikes in our room, mismatched furniture, an ACTUAL bow and arrow, and over the years it has served as not only as a sleeping room, but as an office, a toy room, a dining room (which drove my husband a specific brand of nuts), a TV room, and has never not once, seen anything hung on its walls.
I did a little home tour of our place a few months ago, but our room was not part of it and this would be why. But there's something about buying a house, and still not having done anything with your room eight months later that makes you say, yes ... it is time.
So with that, here are our 'befores'. (Excuse the pile, it was laundry day)

Our room is actually quite small, so a king bed, with the extra width of the platform right in the middle of it takes up most of the space. We've had this platform bed for over a year now ... I liked its clean, low-key vibes, plus it made it really easy for our kids to get in and out of bed with us. It's essentially what set the tone for the whole space.

And this is how it looks now! Little bit boho, little bit southwestern, a touch of mid century?

My goal was to choose items simple enough and versatile enough, that if I wanted to, I could change out the whole vibe with a switch of a rug, and maybe a plant. I could easily see a kilim or persian rug working in there, next time I feel like throwing $1800 out the door, you know? (So, never? haha) The giant one I have in there now was on sale for a STEAL of $150.

One of my favorite things I did for the space was installing our curtain rod up near the ceiling. I was second guessing myself about it, cause I thought it might look a little ridiculous, but it ended up making the room seem taller, and larger. All those design shows ACTUALLY know what they're talking about. Here, you can also get a view of both our book basket and laundry basket, which are inaccurately not overflowing with clothes and/or random stuffed animals. It will never look like this again.

My sister over at Pacific Loom is the weaver behind this gorgeous macrame creation above our bed, and it's like the cherry on top of the whole room. It ... completes me.

(Excuse Isla while she takes a quick power nap)

These two photos that I had framed through Shutterfly were the ones that also really helped solidify the direction of the room, if not just make it entirely. I really wanted something that felt very personal but also complimented the space with a contemporary vibe so I went with the photo gallery print frames. I deliberated FOREVER on which two out of the billion photos on our computer that I should frame. I had a couple picked out that held a lot of nostalgia from our time in Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley where our babies were born, but at the last minute I chose these ones, which were taken on a late summer day just 10 minutes down the road from where we live now. Hanging them really made the whole space feel even more like home.

But because it is, after all, OUR room, I also wanted a picture of just the two of us by our bedside. I ended up choosing this one, which after playing around a bit with all the bordering and color options on Shutterfly, decided to offset it with a large matting and white frame. I just love that the photo visually feels more emphasized that way. The pic, snapped by my sister a few years ago, was taken on a very good day watching Everett pick out a pumpkin at our favorite farmer's market in Winchester, a place which will always hold a sweet spot of nostalgia for us.

Our bathroom was tricky, not because it's particularly unusual, but because I don't have the first idea as to how one is supposed to decorate a bathroom. Up until now, I just haven't really. (Does one actually hang pictures in a bathroom??) But then I came across the mounted wall art options on Shutterfly, and got this idea to do sort of a photo-strip inspired framing, and just rolled with it. It was so easy and fun, and the kids have absolutely loved discussing each picture individually while they take their bath haha.

And there you have it! Our itty bitty room in a nutshell. And I have to say, how NICE it is, to go in there at the end of a day and truly truly enjoy it. It's our little family sleeping haven and it's basically like a spa experience after all these years of going to sleep amongst heaven only knowssss.

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comments:

Ok you can't give a set up like,"I found the most amazing rug for the most amazing price" and just keep that to yourself. I my favorite part is having your kiddos in your photos of your home tours. They both have such sweet little spirits that infuse your photos. 😊

First of all love the macrame! I need one or more for my house! Second what length curtains did you get? I agree long curtains are the bomb very cinderella-esque. Like the stepmothers room or the tall doors.. you know what I mean?

It's a beautiful room! I love the shots of your house, but I feel like all your posts lately have been sponsored content. I get that you have two little ones running around, but do you have time for original, inspired posts?

I loved your blog for so many years, and I still really want to. I've tapered off reading and just check in every now and then when I think of it. The lack of original content and the overload of sponsored posts is why. Sponsored posts are a-okay. That's a part of blogging. I don't mind seeing sponsored posts on blogs where the writers treat their website like a real job and put forth the effort to provide original content, a true voice, and regular posts. That's part of the territory--sponsored content supports the writers while they make their blog a full time job.

But I think your balance has really been off. It's understandable that as a mother, you'd have less time to blog and share personal stories. And that's okay. But posting only sponsored content...It's kind of rude to all of your readers, honestly. It seems like it's time to either put away the sponsored posts or put away the blog altogether. Also, if you're making all the posts sponsored, you're treating us all like customers and not friends. And I hope that you see that in that regard, we are owed the right to share our opinions and provide suggestions. No one is attacking you personally. Your family is beautiful. You're a funny girl. Your home is lovely. It's all of that interest we felt toward you that is inspiring all these comments about how the blog has gone downhill. There's a difference in posting primarily sponsored content and getting negative feedback about that vs. posting family photos and someone making a rude comment about your looks. Something that I, and I think a lot of these commenters who are disappointed lately with The Daybook, would never do.

I hope to see a change, in any direction. No more sponsored content with zero personal posts. Or more of a return to regular posting and balanced personal/sponsored content. Or just a sporadically updated completely personal blog. But the way it is now...it's kind of taking advantage of us when we tune in. Your blog used to be one of my favorites. I miss that!

You did a fantastic job on the bedroom! You really have an eye for design, don't sell yourself short! I enjoy your blog, keep up the good work Sister! And I would love to know where you got that fabulous! platform bed. Ive looked for a while with out any luck on great ones and you nailed it.

Hi Sydney! I was wondering where you got your black rug in the bathroom. I'm looking for something just like that for mine! Your house is beautiful as well as your sweet family. You and your mom-isms are awesome.

To the anonymous commenter who advised me to "go read a book or something":

...I appreciate your concern about how much I read. Reading is very important. I'm a farmer so, yes, at this time of year at the end of winter, I've got a little more time than the average person. I, in fact, use a lot of that time to read. If you need any book recommendations, I'm happy to offer you some. In between tilling, planting, watering, weeding, running our home, tending to the animals, canning, preserving, building hive boxes for the bees, spending time with my husband, and occasionally checking in to blogs when I'm having my lunch break, I do manage to get in some time to read.

In addition, if I choose to spend six minutes writing a comment to someone who has chosen to run a business and express my displeasure as a consumer, I'm entitled to do so, and that said business owner should acknowledge that she has a responsibility to perform her job with integrity. If this were a fully personal blog, it would be a different situation, and I would never feel I have a place to comment on what is or isn't posted. That would be illogical, since it would be primarily a hobby for the writer. However, if someone is treating the blog as a business, solely or primarily doing sponsored content, we as readers become customers and as customers we are entitled to politely say when we feel something isn't working. I understand that though I was polite and fair with my tone in my comment, you were simply coming to the defense of someone whom you like or love, and in those situations logic does not matter. Have a fantastic day! Genuinely!

And, PS, I majored in Creative Writing in college. It only takes a few minutes to churn out three paragraphs for someone who writes every day and has spent their whole academic career learning to be a writer. We all have different skills. You shouldn't make an assumption that someone's life is empty or in need of a change when that person simply says something you do not like.

Now, I really must be off, so that I can try to find something to do to fill my time, as you implied I have so much of it. Hrm...